Category archives for Government policy

A comment from a journalist got me thinking. It was about the Nick Xenophon Party. The comment was “If we don’t know your policies, how can we vote for you?” I started thinking about the reason for a minor party developing their own policies. What is the purpose? Their party will never have the numbers to […]

Turnbull arrived like a messiah. A rock star. The Dali Lama. A year down the track he is just another PM struggling to win an election. What happened? The answer is “lots”. Let’s start with what people expected. To say the general public is disillusioned with politicians is like saying if I stand in the […]

The first few weeks of the election campaign were not going well. No surge in the polls. No capitulation by Labor. No gaffs from the Shorten team. Malcolm the Almighty was worried. He gathered a few of the most creative minds in the Liberal party together in the Cabinet room to discuss the future plans. […]

The year is 2046. 30 years from now. The Crumbling Blocks Royal Commission has just completed and released it’t preliminary report. For those who are not aware of the Crumbling Blocks Royal Commission it was set up to investigate the massive problems currently showing up in blocks of apartments built between 2010 and 2020. Most are […]

So Labor want a royal commission on the banks. The banks don’t seem to think it is needed. Then again, asking the banks if they want a royal commission on banks is like asking the Catholic church if they want a royal commission on child abuse. Nothing to see here folks. Please move along. The […]

The people we label “terrorist” presumably bring terror to our lives. Terror is defined as “extreme fear”. So do we suffer extreme fear when we think about terrorists? I recently spent some time in Paris. For a week I travelled every day to Saint-Denis where the terrorist attacks took place a few months back. Soldiers […]

“So you’re a lobbyist for the NRA?” “Sure am, but don’t get us mixed up with the National Rifle Association. People get us confused.” “So which NRA are you?” We are the ‘Nother Reality Association.” “Can you explain what you do?” “We help people see things in another way. A sort of ‘nother reality. For […]

To increase the GST. To broaden the GST so that it applies to food, education and health. Is Scott Morrison on a different path to Malcolm Turnbull? How can we have a sensible discussion on tax when one tax sucks all the oxygen out of the debate? The debate is flawed, but the GST is […]

I am part of a tribe. Several tribes in fact. I am part of the Inner West Tribe, the Sydney Tribe, the New South Wales Tribe, the Australian Tribe. Even the World Tribe. All these “tribes” are defined by the lump of land we occupy. The thing is, the bigger the lump of land, the […]

Around Easter of 1946, my parents, and another couple by the name of Peggy and John Jones in Brixton UK, celebrated in a “matrimonial” manner. About nine months later, on 8 January 1947, I was born. One David Robert Jones were born on the same day. That was all we would ever have in common. […]

An interesting question was posed to me a few months back. “If all men are created equal, are borders moral?” If we are all equal regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, religion etc. why should we have countries? Why should only my ‘tribe’ inhabit a piece of land defined by lines on a map? I confess, I […]

Imagine you belong to a club. I use the term “club” in a wide sense here. The club you belong to may be a country, a religion, a sport, a multinational or even the bird watching community. Belonging to a club gives you a sense of identity. It enables you to meet and talk with […]

It would be fair to say both major parties are less than popular with most people. What other choice do we have? The Greens have some support. They get into the low teens when it comes to percentage of votes, but that will not get them into power. So how does a small party like […]

You would think that everything that could be said, had been said about the refugee influx into Europe. I think there are a few topics that are new, or glossed over, so here we go. These are seven refugee issues we have ignored. Firstly, one raised by Gillian Triggs. If we are taking Syrian refugees, […]

“Is everyone here for the cabinet meeting?” asked the chief Abbott. “Still waiting for BB.” replied ‘Kauri’ Pyne. “Is BB King coming to provide some entertainment?” said Abbott. “Think he is dead PM. I was talking about the other BB. Bronwyn Bishop. Although I think she would prefer to be known as BB Queen. Sounds […]

In an autocratic country, people are afraid to discuss ideas. Every concept that doesn’t fit with the state view is a potential point of punishment. Think North Korea or Russia. In Australia, our governments are losing the ability to discuss concepts for much the same reason. A concept is a potential point of punishment. Not in […]

‘Twas way, way back. About 2 million BC. We know about a man who lived then, through a recently discovered cassette tape. His name was Trog Le Dite. He was famous back then because he was the first to decide people should live together. A community. Up till then people lived on their own. He […]

Daily we are subjected to comment on the Liberal government. They rang from propaganda to outright slander. In this post, I will try and take a step back and look at the facts. Analyse what we know of our Prime Minister Tony Abbott. What sort of person is he? Aside from the media performance, what does […]

Whenever Abbott attacks the ABC, red lights start to flash. Abbott is ideologically, and fanatically, opposed to the ABC. I am sure if you look long enough you will find something nice he said, but it was probably a back handed comment. He would claim it was a mis-quote. When he criticises Q&A for having […]

Drip, drip, drip…. “Is that a leak?” asked Chairman Abbott during a quiet moment in the Cabinet room. “Wasn’t me.” was the response from all present. Several shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. All except one who cannot be named. He fiddled under the table with the digital radio so kindly provided by a constituent. First race […]

Imagine this. A school teacher sees a child being molested in the school grounds. The teacher reports it to the Principal. What would you expect to happen next? If the Principal fails to report it to authorities, the Principal is subject to a $5,000 fine If the Principal does report it, the Principal is subject […]

The dull and boring federal budget is now with us. Not much to report. Didn’t do much. Seems the whole purpose was to avoid any criticism. There are a few points worth noting however. The $20k tax deductible amount is aimed at boosting small business. If a small business is making a profit, and hence […]

Kevin Rudd called it our greatest challenge. At about the same time Tony Abbott called it “bullshit”. I am talking about climate change of course. The years have passed since then, so where are we now? We can start the inventory by looking at targets. Back then we had a renewable energy target (RET) of […]

What is the role of government? It is not a question you hear much unless it is in a very narrow context. Government should do this or do that. It is interesting though, to think in a much broader sense as to what we want governments to do for us. In order to get a […]